Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claim(s) 31-33 and 46-48 of is/are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim(s) 1-3 and 16-18 of copending Application No. 18/425,525 (reference application).
18/425,525 claims
1
2
3
16
17
18
18/748,759 claims
31
32
33
46
47
48
18/425,525 claim 1
18/748,759 claim 31
A computer-implemented method of improving texture compression by modifying the compression method to account for the unused nature of unused pixels, the method comprising:
A computer-implemented method of improving texture compression by pre-processing unused pixels, the method comprising:
identifying unused pixels of a texture, wherein the unused pixels comprise pixels of the texture that are not used for rendering a three-dimensional model; and
identifying unused pixels of the texture, wherein the unused pixels comprise pixels of the texture that are not used for rendering a three-dimensional model;
compressing the texture using a modified compression method, wherein the modified compression method comprises a compression method modified to automatically associate the unused pixels with certain values to optimize compression of the texture.
identifying one or more colors for filling the unused pixels prior to compression based on one or more other pixels of the texture and/or a selected compression method; filling the unused pixels with the one or more identified colors to reduce contrast with adjacent pixels; and compressing the texture with the selected compression method, wherein the texture compressed includes the unused pixels filled with the one or more identified colors.
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 31 of 18/748,759 teaches all the limitations of claim 1 of 18/425,525. For example, claim 31 of /748,759 does not expressly recite a “modified compression method.” However, it recites “filling the unused pixels with the one or more identified colors to reduce contrast with adjacent pixels; and compressing the texture with the selected compression method, wherein the texture compressed includes the unused pixels filled with the one or more identified colors”, which can be considered as modifying the selected compression method by filling the unused pixels with identified colors, then compressing the texture with the selected method. Therefore, claim 31 of 18/748,759 teaches a modified compression method compressing the texture.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 39, 54 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The claim recites “applying the selected compression method against images corresponding to each of the available colors and identifying the highest quality compressed image produced based on compressed image size and/or compressed image quality” where the compression is performed for a plurality of colors to identify the highest quality. The prior art does not teach these limitations in combination with the other limitations.
Claims 41-43, 56-58 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The claim recites “wherein identifying one or more colors for filling the unused pixels comprises identifying a color to fill a first unused pixel of the unused pixels based on the pixels bordering the first pixel, wherein the pixels bordering the first pixel comprise used pixels and filled unused pixels” where the color is based on a border with used pixels and filled unused pixels. The prior art does not teach these limitations in combination with the other limitations.
Claims 44-45, 59-60 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The claim recites “rasterizing an image block created from the texture with the unused pixels filled with the one or more identified colors and creating a raster image in which values for the unused pixels of the texture are obtained from the rasterization of the image block, wherein compressing the texture with the selected compression method comprises compressing the raster image” where the unused pixels filled and then refilled from a rasterization of the image block. The prior art does not teach these limitations in combination with the other limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 31, 34-38, 46-53 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Touma U.S. Patent/PG Publication 20110210960.
Regarding claim 31 (independent):
A computer-implemented method of improving texture compression by pre-processing unused pixels, the method comprising: (Touma [0031] Region determiner 110 and blurring engine 120 may be implemented on any computing device that can support graphics processing and rendering. Such a computing device can include, but is not limited to, a personal computer, mobile device such as a mobile phone, workstation, embedded system, game console, television, set-top box, or any other computing device that can support computer graphics and image processing. Such a device may include, but is not limited to, a device having one or more processors and memory for executing and storing instructions. Such a computing device may include software, firmware, and hardware. Software may include one or more applications and an operating system. Hardware can include, but is not limited to, a processor, memory and a display. ).
identifying unused pixels of the texture, wherein the unused pixels comprise pixels of the texture that are not used for rendering a three-dimensional model (Touma [0028] In some cases, textures (or images) are partially mapped to a 3D surface. As discussed above, partial mapping of textures to a 3D surface leaves a portion of a texture unused.)(Touma [0033] In an embodiment, region determiner 110 determines unmapped region 304 and mapped region 302. As an example, region determiner 110 may check for each pixel in texture 102 if the pixel is mapped to a 3D surface.)
identifying one or more colors for filling the unused pixels prior to compression based on one or more other pixels of the texture and/or a selected compression method (Touma [0030] Averaging engine 220 averages colors of a plurality of mapped pixels of texture 102 and a pixel mapper 230 maps one or more unmapped pixels of the texture 102 to low frequency compressible information or an average color value. The operation of blurring engine 120, averaging engine 220 and pixel mapper 230 is described further below in Section 2. )(Touma [0036] In an embodiment, averaging engine 220 averages mapped pixels of texture 120 into one average color value using texture mask 112 as a weight.).
filling the unused pixels with the one or more identified colors to reduce contrast with adjacent pixels (Touma [0036] Pixel mapper 230 then populates unmapped pixels of texture 102 with the average color value. When unmapped pixels of texture 102 are populated with an average color value, abrupt color transitions in colors that may occur in texture 102 are minimized.)(Touma [0034] To accomplish populating an unmapped portion of the region determined by region determiner 110 with compressible low frequency information).
and compressing the texture with the selected compression method, wherein the texture compressed includes the unused pixels filled with the one or more identified colors (Touma [0035] In an embodiment, to populate an unmapped portion of texture 102 determined by region determiner 110 with compressible low frequency information, blurring engine 120 performs a texture minification operation in which unmapped pixels of texture 102 are populated with an average color value.)(Touma [0086] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary compressed texture 604 that is produced as an output by blurring engine 120, according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the unmapped portion of texture 102 (region 304) has been replaced with compressible low frequency information.).
Regarding claim 34:
The computer-implemented method of claim 31, has all of its limitations taught by Touma. Touma further teaches wherein the unused pixels of the texture are identified based on a monochrome bitmap of the three-dimensional model (Touma [0034] Texture mask 112 may store for each pixel in texture 102 whether the pixel is mapped or unmapped to a 3D surface. In this way, texture mask 112 effectively distinguishes a mapped portion of texture map 102 from an unmapped portion of texture map 102.) where the texture mask is a monochrome bitmap.
Regarding claim 35:
The computer-implemented method of claim 31, has all of its limitations taught by Touma. Touma further teaches wherein filling the unused pixels with the one or more colors comprises filling the unused pixels with a single color (Touma [0036] In an embodiment, averaging engine 220 averages mapped pixels of texture 120 into one average color value using texture mask 112 as a weight. Pixel mapper 230 then populates unmapped pixels of texture 102 with the average color value. When unmapped pixels of texture 102 are populated with an average color value, abrupt color transitions in colors that may occur in texture 102 are minimized. Because abrupt color transitions are minimized, high frequency content occurring in texture 102 is also minimized allowing texture 102 to be efficiently and effectively compressed by image compression techniques (e.g. wavelet based compression techniques).)
Regarding claim 36:
The computer-implemented method of claim 35, has all of its limitations taught by Touma. Touma further teaches wherein identifying the single color for filling the unused pixels comprises determining an average color of all used pixels of the texture (Touma [0036] In an embodiment, averaging engine 220 averages mapped pixels of texture 120 into one average color value using texture mask 112 as a weight. Pixel mapper 230 then populates unmapped pixels of texture 102 with the average color value. When unmapped pixels of texture 102 are populated with an average color value, abrupt color transitions in colors that may occur in texture 102 are minimized. Because abrupt color transitions are minimized, high frequency content occurring in texture 102 is also minimized allowing texture 102 to be efficiently and effectively compressed by image compression techniques (e.g. wavelet based compression techniques).)
Regarding claim 37:
The computer-implemented method of claim 35, has all of its limitations taught by Touma. Touma further teaches wherein identifying the single color for filling the unused pixels comprises determining an average color of used pixels bordering at least one of the unused pixels (Touma [0036] In an embodiment, averaging engine 220 averages mapped pixels of texture 120 into one average color value using texture mask 112 as a weight. Pixel mapper 230 then populates unmapped pixels of texture 102 with the average color value. When unmapped pixels of texture 102 are populated with an average color value, abrupt color transitions in colors that may occur in texture 102 are minimized. Because abrupt color transitions are minimized, high frequency content occurring in texture 102 is also minimized allowing texture 102 to be efficiently and effectively compressed by image compression techniques (e.g. wavelet based compression techniques).) since they are in the same texture, all used pixels border unused pixels. The claim does not define the border size.
Regarding claim 38:
The computer-implemented method of claim 35, has all of its limitations taught by Touma. Touma further teaches wherein identifying the single color for filling the unused pixels comprises searching among all available colors to identify a color producing a highest quality compressed image (Touma [0029] In an embodiment, blurring engine 120 populates an unmapped portion of a texture region determined by region determiner 110 with compressible low frequency information. Compressible low frequency data may provide a high compression factor and may require lesser bandwidth compared to an image based texture. Thus, use of compressible low frequency data may allow a saving of bandwidth when the texture 102 is streamed over a network.)(Touma [0032] Thus, it is necessary to convert texture 102 into a form that is highly compressible by wavelet-based image compression techniques. In an embodiment, not intended to limit the invention, this can be achieved by populating the unmapped portion of texture 102 with highly compressible low frequency information.) since it is identifying a color (searching among all available colors) that is highly compressible, making it among the highest quality.
Regarding claim 46 (independent):
The claim is a parallel version of claim 31. As such it is rejected under the same teachings.
Regarding claim 47:
The claim is a parallel version of claim 32. As such it is rejected under the same teachings.
Regarding claim 48:
The claim is a parallel version of claim 33. As such it is rejected under the same teachings.
Regarding claim 49:
The claim is a parallel version of claim 34. As such it is rejected under the same teachings.
Regarding claim 50:
The claim is a parallel version of claim 35. As such it is rejected under the same teachings.
Regarding claim 51:
The claim is a parallel version of claim 36. As such it is rejected under the same teachings.
Regarding claim 52:
The claim is a parallel version of claim 37. As such it is rejected under the same teachings.
Regarding claim 53:
The claim is a parallel version of claim 38. As such it is rejected under the same teachings.
Claim(s) 32-33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Touma U.S. Patent/PG Publication 20110210960 in view of Johansson U.S. Patent/PG Publication 20200020150.
Regarding claim 32:
The computer-implemented method of claim 31, has all of its limitations taught by Touma. Touma further teaches wherein the unused pixels of the texture are identified based on a (Touma [0033] In an embodiment, region determiner 110 determines unmapped region 304 and mapped region 302. As an example, region determiner 110 may check for each pixel in texture 102 if the pixel is mapped to a 3D surface.).
Touma does not teach uv mapping. In a related field of endeavor, Johansson teaches:
UV mapping (Johansson [0031] FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate various aspects of a rendering operation using a texture atlas. FIG. 3A is a duplicate of FIG. 2A for the reader's convenience. FIG. 3B shows the texture atlas 300 used in the rendering of object 102. A UV space 302 corresponds to cone 202a; a UV space 304 corresponds to cylinder 204a; and a UV space 304 corresponds to circular disk base 206a. During a rendering operation, a three dimensional (3D) mesh of polygons, which may or may not be comprised of triangles, is effectively projected onto two-dimensional (2D) UV spaces to create a mapping. The pixels corresponding to the 3D rendering are then pulled from the texels of the UV spaces to populate the pixels in the 3D rendering. For cylinder 204a, for example, UV space 304 is effectively wrapped around a cylindrical shape. For cone 202a, for example, UV space 302 is stretched downward from “above” the conical shape, with the vertex of cone 202a mapping to the center of UV space 302. In texture atlas 300, the gutter space 308 is shown as white, although different colors, and even some textures, may be used for gutter spaces.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use UV mapping as taught by Johansson. The rationale for doing so would have been that it is obvious to try since there are a limited number of mapping techniques with UV mapping being the most common. Therefore it would have been obvious to combine Johansson with Touma to obtain the invention.
Regarding claim 33:
The computer-implemented method of claim 32, has all of its limitations taught by Touma in view of Johansson. Touma further teaches wherein identifying the unused pixels of the texture based on a
identifying pixels of the texture that are mapped to the three-dimensional model based on the and marking all remaining pixels of the texture as unused (Touma [0033] In an embodiment, region determiner 110 determines unmapped region 304 and mapped region 302. As an example, region determiner 110 may check for each pixel in texture 102 if the pixel is mapped to a 3D surface.)
Touma does not teach uv mapping. In a related field of endeavor, Johansson teaches:
UV mapping (Johansson [0031] FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate various aspects of a rendering operation using a texture atlas. FIG. 3A is a duplicate of FIG. 2A for the reader's convenience. FIG. 3B shows the texture atlas 300 used in the rendering of object 102. A UV space 302 corresponds to cone 202a; a UV space 304 corresponds to cylinder 204a; and a UV space 304 corresponds to circular disk base 206a. During a rendering operation, a three dimensional (3D) mesh of polygons, which may or may not be comprised of triangles, is effectively projected onto two-dimensional (2D) UV spaces to create a mapping. The pixels corresponding to the 3D rendering are then pulled from the texels of the UV spaces to populate the pixels in the 3D rendering. For cylinder 204a, for example, UV space 304 is effectively wrapped around a cylindrical shape. For cone 202a, for example, UV space 302 is stretched downward from “above” the conical shape, with the vertex of cone 202a mapping to the center of UV space 302. In texture atlas 300, the gutter space 308 is shown as white, although different colors, and even some textures, may be used for gutter spaces.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use UV mapping as taught by Johansson. The rationale for doing so would have been that it is obvious to try since there are a limited number of mapping techniques with UV mapping being the most common. Therefore it would have been obvious to combine Johansson with Touma to obtain the invention.
Claim(s) 40, 55 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Touma U.S. Patent/PG Publication 20110210960 in view of Veera U.S. Patent/PG Publication 20120262542.
Regarding claim 40:
The computer-implemented method of claim 31, has all of its limitations taught by Touma. Touma further teaches wherein filling the unused pixels with the one or more colors comprises filling the unused pixels (Touma [0036] In an embodiment, averaging engine 220 averages mapped pixels of texture 120 into one average color value using texture mask 112 as a weight. Pixel mapper 230 then populates unmapped pixels of texture 102 with the average color value. When unmapped pixels of texture 102 are populated with an average color value, abrupt color transitions in colors that may occur in texture 102 are minimized.)(Touma [0069] In an embodiment, pixel mapper 230 performs pixel mapping and replaces the unmapped pixels of texture 102 with pixels of an average color value returned from the texture minification operation.).
Touma does not teach one by one filling. In a related field of endeavor, Veera teaches:
wherein filling the unused pixels with the one or more colors comprises filling the unused pixels one-by-one (Veera Abstract A two-step conversion is described which accomplishes warping and hole filling on a pixel-by-pixel basis.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one by one filling as taught by Veera. The rationale for doing so would have been that it is obvious to try, since filling could be performed on a single pixel, a subset of pixels, or all pixels, where there is a reasonable expectation of success since the processing is still being performed on all pixels. Therefore it would have been obvious to combine Veera with Touma to obtain the invention.
Regarding claim 55:
The claim is a parallel version of claim 40. As such it is rejected under the same teachings.
Conclusion
For the prior art referenced and the prior art considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure but not relied upon, see PTO-892 “Notice of References Cited”.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON PRINGLE-PARKER whose telephone number is (571) 272-5690 and e-mail is jason.pringle-parker@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30am-5:00pm est Monday-Friday. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, King Poon can be reached on (571) 270-0728. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON A PRINGLE-PARKER/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2617
Prosecution Insights